CHRISTOPH OTTO: AUTHOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER

Every year at Whitsun, more than one million people set out on a pilgrimage lasting for days – on horseback and on foot – to the little Andalusian pilgrimage village El Rocío. It’s a journey with a lot of sacrifices, yet full of surreal mystery, real madness, tradition, miracles, dancing and singing. Everything comes together on this walk: faith, love, happiness, hope, simply life as a whole.

Its fans claim it the most unconventional place in Europe, maybe even worldwide. Situated in the very centre of Berlin the famous airport of Berlin-Tempelhof discontinued all flight operations in 2008, the 386 hectare area being opened to the public two years later. Since then, the “Tempelhof field” has become a place that magically attracts people who want to accomplish their dreams.

In the Colombian rainforest where Daisy Mora lives, there is no schoolbus to take students to school on the other side of the canyon. So the girl uses the only transport system available: steel cables – 1000 meter long – connect the slopes to both sides of the river. With 80 kilometer per hour it takes only 60 seconds to cross the abyss of the Rio Negro, which gurgles 400 meters below.

Ever since the revolution, the western world has feared Iran. For 36 years, relations have been frozen between the two sides. Following the agreement on the nuclear dispute in 2015 economic sanctions have been lifted and Iran has returned to the world market. However what is awaiting the people there on a personal front? I look at a country and society faced by many prejudices and changes.

The control centre for all future projects is in Texas: The NASA‘s Johnson Space Center in Houston is the largest and most important centre in the world for manned space flight. It has two objectives. To train astronauts and to bring them back safely to earth. Over 15,000 space technicians, computer engineers and trainers work around the clock like bees in a hive to facilitate this.

The terror attacks on the World Trade Center took away that which was most important for thousands; their family members, friends and confidence. Today the place is an expression of grief and a beginning, with the new buildings now a tourist magnet. I met people whose life took an abrupt turn since the attacks. This story tells of how the day changed their lives and how they have come to terms with this today.